Production method for composite material

Abstract

A method of producing a composite material including carbon fiber and a melt-fabricable fluororesin, the method including: (1) preparing a prepreg by heating and compressing a stack of opened carbon fiber and a film of a melt-fabricable fluororesin at a temperature not lower than a melting point of the fluororesin, the film having a back tension set to 3.0 N/cm2 or less; and (2) preparing a composite material by heating and compressing one or more sheets or pieces of the prepreg stacked in a thickness direction at a temperature not lower than the melting point of the fluororesin.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of producing a composite material including carbon fiber and a melt-fabricable fluororesin, the method comprising:
 (1) preparing a prepreg by heating and compressing a stack of opened carbon fiber and a film of a melt-fabricable fluororesin at a temperature not lower than a melting point of the fluororesin, the film having a back tension set to 3.0 N/cm 2  or less; and   (2) preparing a composite material by heating and compressing one or more sheets or pieces of the prepreg stacked in a thickness direction at a temperature not lower than the melting point of the fluororesin.   
     
     
         2 . The production method according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the melt-fabricable fluororesin comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a tetrafluoroethylene/perfluoro(alkyl vinyl ether) copolymer, a tetrafluoroethylene/hexafluoropropylene copolymer, an ethylene/tetrafluoroethylene copolymer, polychlorotrifluoroethylene, and polyvinylidene fluoride.   
     
     
         3 . The production method according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the melt-fabricable fluororesin has a melt flow rate of 0.1 to 100 g/10 min and a melting point of 272° C. to 323° C.   
     
     
         4 . The production method according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the melt-fabricable fluororesin is a tetrafluoroethylene/perfluoro(alkyl vinyl ether) copolymer.